‘Long way to go’ – Serena Williams

Following defeat by sister Venus in round three at Indian Wells, Serena Williams says she has “a long way to go” on her comeback after the birth of her child.

Serena, the former world number one hit four aces. She had her serve broken four times in a 6-3 6-4 loss in California.

Serena, who was in her first event since beating Venus in the 2017 Australian Open final said: “It wasn’t easy, obviously.”

The 36-year-old, saved a match point against her elder sister but hit a forehand long to end the contest. Serena said: “It was good to play and try to get in the rhythm and get into the swing again. I can’t really replicate the situation no matter how much I do in practice. I make those shots 10 times out of 10 in practice.”

“It’s just the nerves, the anticipation you feel naturally. It’s a little bit of everything that comes in a match that just doesn’t normally happen. It’s good that I don’t have to say that this is the best tennis I have ever played and I lost. My room for improvement is incredible,” added Serena.

“So I have just got to keep saying at each tournament that my goal is just to be better than the last. I don’t want to go backwards.”